Many runners called The Leadville Trail 100 Run’s near-20 year record “unbeatable.” David Roche raised the bar with an astonishing 2024 performance.
David Roche is an elite trail runner and running coach. He’s a two-time USATF trail national champion, the 2014 Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year, and former Mountain Runner of the Year.
Beyond his athletic talents, David builds community in the running space as the co-host of the Some Work All Play Podcast, a regular contributor to Trail Runner Magazine, and co-author of the book The Happy Runner with his wife Megan.
As of August 2024, David is also the new course record holder of the Leadville 100 Mile Endurance Run, finishing in 15:26:34.
David is undoubtedly one of the best runners in the world, but it was still an exciting surprise to see him break a record so many thought was unbeatable– and do so by a wide margin.
Just weeks after the race, I caught up with David to hear how he made it happen.
David Roche on How He Set a Course Record at Leadville
David shares about his long run philosophy, the specific training he did to prepare himself for the high altitude course, what he’s doing for recovery, and why he didn’t focus too much on specificity, but rather on certain physiological skills.
In this episode, David Roche and I talk about:
- How David blends consistency with fun in his training
- The recovery routine that helped him perform at Leadville
- Specific workouts he used in preparation for the race
- Weekly mileage, strides, steep hill work, bike workouts, and uphill treadmill sessions
- Fueling and pacing strategies he planned for Leadville, including precision caffeine and consistent effort levels
- Using heart rate to ensure a proper and consistent effort throughout the race, and the confidence monitoring it gave him
- The mental side of training and racing, and how the support of loved ones helped
- How a 2024 near-death bike accident impacted his mindset around both life and his running career
Share this episode with your running friends who want to apply lessons from an elite runner into their own workouts!
Subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Learn more about David and SWAP
- Follow David on Instagram
- Listen to my previous podcasts with David: this one on mechanical output, this one on power and speed development, and this one all about the long run.
- David contributed his favorite injury prevention strategy to The Little Black Book of Recovery & Prevention along with 8 other elite athletes.
Thank you DrinkLMNT!
A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.
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Thank you AG1!
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